Well, this isn’t actually their first announcement, but I think it’s the first naming the editorial and advisory boards. They note: “Samples of ongoing translations along with the original Arabic texts will be made available in an online forum. The first LAL volume is expected to appear in late 2011.”

Adonis continues the publicity rounds for his new collection. Apparently, he was introduced by our friend Hosam Aboul-Ela, who translated Sonallah Ibrahim’s Stealth (among other things). No quotes from the talk, although apparently “The lecture was outstanding….”

He bites his lip suppressing an anger
caused by reasons he cannot recall.
He sleeps deeply,
the palms holding his head up
make him look like the soldiers
dozing in midnight trucks
as they shut their eyelids
on piles of images,
letting their souls spin
until they suddenly turn into angels.